Dreams and Realities
by Nagaku Tsuzuku Yami
Summary: A Daken based fic. It was written for a challenge on XDisneyDreamers on LJ. The challenge was "Awake".


**A/N:** Heh, my first attempt at writing a Daken based fic. I'm not entirely sure if the ending makes sense, so hopefully it does. I don't like Daken at all, keep that in mind when I wrote this fic. But then again I think I love to hate him at the moment. He might grow on me when he starts growing up some and stops being a little Romulus follower and shadow.

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><p>Daken always hated his father. Hated him even more then he ever thought possible, all because of lies fed to him from birth by Romulus. He believed with all his being that his father brutally murdered his beloved mother. Itsu. He never knew her, never knew what she looked like until recently and yet he loved her more then life itself. Would give anything to have her come back, to have her be the mother he always dreamed she would be.<p>

He loved her. He hated his father.

He was loyal to Romulus but wanted his throne and wanted his father dead.

But then, then he learnt the truth that shocked him to some extent. Still he couldn't shake his hatred for his father, and clung to new founded hatred for Romulus. He wanted to kill the man, take his throne and rule over it. He still wanted his father dead though. The only good thing he could remember his father doing for him was giving him the image of his Mother to hold dear, and that was in the older feral's mind, and was shown to him by Xavier.

He knew what his mother looked like now. She was beautiful, even more beautiful then he's ever dreamed she would be. He took most of his looks from her, his mutation he took from his father. He was thankful for that.

And as the few years passed since he learnt the truth and fighting to take control over the empire Romulus built and his father destroyed. It wasn't easy, only a small percentage of it was left. Barely anything of use now. So what should he do now?

The answer was simple. He wondered the world and simply did what he pleased. He got into plenty of trouble along the way, and oddly enough his father was always there to clean up his mess and get him out of trouble despite what Captain America and others said. They were against it; they wanted Daken in jail or dead. Daken let a confident smile escape. Let them try.

A cruel smile crossed his features on how powerless they were to actually stop him. His father wouldn't allow them to do any harm to him. He was safe to do what he wanted, what he was raised to be like.

He just didn't know that he was still under Romulus's thumb. Under Romulus's control, or more correctly Romulus's past influence on him kept him there. Kept him being the 'Dark Wolverine' and all that stuff.

More correctly, he didn't want to know. If he did that, he would know he was living in a dream world he had hardly any control over.

In a dream world where he could beat his father, he was better. If he wasn't living a lie, in a fabricated reality of his choosing he would know that he could in fact lose to his father quite easily. He would have to face facts that his father gone easy on him because of the love his father had for him. Because the older feral didn't want to harm his own flesh and blood. A son created out of love.

Unfortunately his dream shattered one day. And it shattered hard around him.

He learnt that his father was re-captured and re-trained by the dogs of the project. Daken sneered angrily, how could the old man be so careless. He didn't let himself consider that he actually felt some form of concern. Not even when he agreed to help retrieve him. Fighting alongside the X-men, the basic members it's smaller now that everything in the world was getting more chaotic and worse. Mutants are now an endangered animal.

They got into the faculty fine. Easy. The X-men didn't kill on purpose, Daken did. He enjoyed it. It was in his blood! He was raised for this, trained for this and some could even say he was bred for this. His pheromones were barely used, he couldn't or else it would influence the mutant do-gooders. Pity. A cruel smile slide across his features as he kept cutting them down.

To his left was X-23, the clone of his father. She took most of the doctor's look. The Doctor she considers to be her mother. Daken still had to figure out if she was a sister or an Auntie to him. It was disturbing to consider her an Auntie. She was younger then he was. And Daken in his arrogance and knowledge refused to do such, and the fact that in some way she has two people's DNA in her would that not make her more like a sister? Probably. Did he care in the end? Not at all.

The doctors gave up instantly, but were over confident in Weapon X's abilities. They directed us right into a large dome like arena. No windows, two exits and his father. Daken should have known it was a trap, but something drew him forward in the search. Not the same desperation the others had in looking for the fool. He turned his attention towards his father, a helmet with a red like visor hide most of his face except for his nose, mouth and chin. Wires hung from it and was attached to various places on his father's body including battery like objects hanging off his waist.

Teeth were bared. A loud warning snarl echoed around the room, coming from his father. Daken never heard his father snarl like that before, not even in their previous fights. Nothing human in it. Sneering he couldn't help but feel disgusted on how his father fell so easily. Or was that disgust for someone else? Daken didn't care to think about it now.

Snikt. His father's claws were out and gleaming, ready to slice and dice.

His own claws slide out in response to that.

Orders were shouted; Daken ignored them and informed them to figure out a way out. He'll handle his father, he beat him before and he could do it again and again. He was better then his father. So he lunged, his father did the same? His shorter stocky body seemed to absorb Daken's own weight and hits better then Daken expected, returning Daken's attacks with a savage frenzy he never saw in his father before.

The fight continued, and as it did Daken continually found himself searching for recognition. X-23 looked more solemn then normal. She was hurting from what she saw Wolverine do and act like. Daken would never admit that he was the same. He wasn't fond of his father not knowing him. Not recognizing him or caring about him. It was quickly clear to Daken that he was fighting Weapon X not his father.

Weapon X didn't care about Daken; Weapon X didn't hold his punches against a hateful son. Weapon X was just that, a weapon and not a father who constantly cleans up his cruel son's messes.

X-23 ended up helping; her attacks were cold and efficient just like his. Weapon X met them with a vengeance. It took nearly all of them to bring Weapon X down, and Daken felt the ground hit his knees as he fought to catch his breath. Snarling angrily at how powerless he was in this fight. Snarling because he couldn't recognize his father and his father didn't recognize him. For the first time he felt like an orphan, if that was even possible.

His snarling didn't stop even as they loaded his fa-no Weapon X onto the X-Jet and got him back to the mansion. Daken didn't follow them to the infirmary and X-23 hesitated for a second before following after them. Leaving Daken alone in a dark hallway covered in his blood more then his fathers. He was defeated by Weapon X.

And in the end however, the dream shattered leaving Daken awake with the reality of things as he stood in the hallway. Alone.

He didn't like it at all but was powerless to do anything about it. Was this what his father felt when it came to him?


End file.
